German Lisa Brennauer produced a stunning ride to win the women’s world time-trial title in Ponferrada, north-western Spain, on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old who was junior world champion in 2005 beat Anna Solovey of Ukraine by 18 seconds with American Evelyn Stevens another 3 seconds further back in third.
Brennauer said it was an unexpected success.
Photo: AFP
“For me, it couldn’t have been any better so I’m very happy right now,” Brennauer said.
‘SURPRISED’
“I’m still surprised right now, I can’t believe it. The world championships have their own rules; sometimes there are people who you don’t see the whole year who only prepare for this one race, so they’re not on your plan,” she said.
Photo: AFP
“I’m very happy and overwhelmed, it needs time for it to sink in,” she added.
Last year’s champion Ellen van Dijk finished a disappointing seventh, more than a minute off the pace on the 29.5km course.
DOWNPOUR
However, the Dutchwoman, who was the last rider to start, was hampered in the closing stages by a torrential downpour.
The rain also affected New Zealand’s Linda Villumsen, last year’s runner-up, who could only manage ninth.
Solovey’s silver medal ensured a dramatic return to form for the 22-year-old who came back from a two-year doping suspension a year ago.
Before that, she had won back-to-back junior time-trial titles in 2009 and 2010.
Stevens, the runner-up two years ago, made up for the disappointment of finishing fourth last year, missing out to teammate Carmen Small by just 0.04 seconds.
JUNIOR MEN’S
Earlier in the day, another German took gold as Lennard Kamna won the junior men’s event, also held over 29.5km.
American Adrien Costa was second, nearly 45 seconds behind the winner, with Michael Storer of Australia third, almost a minute slower.
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